Body of student who drowned during photo shoot at River Yala recovered

The body of one of the two university students who drowned during a photo shoot at the banks of River Yala in Siaya County has been recovered.

According to Siaya County Commissioner Michael Ole Tialal, the body of Derrick Auka — a Third Year student at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology — was retrieved from the water just about 100 meters from where they drowned.

Auka drowned on Saturday alongside Sharon Atieno, a student at Bondo Technical Training Institute whose body is yet to be recovered three days later.

Atieno slipped and fell into the river and as Auka tried to rescue he was overwhelmed by the current.

The search operation is being conducted by local divers hired by the county government of Siaya.

The male student’s body was taken to Bondo Sub-county Hospital mortuary as the search for Atieno’s body continued.

Meanwhile, relatives of the female student are still camping at the river bank waiting for their kin’s body to be recovered.